Liverpool’s Winger Hunt: Diomande and Minteh Options

Liverpool’s search for a new right-sided spearhead has settled into a clear pattern: one blockbuster target, and one shrewd, cut‑price alternative waiting in the wings.

With Mohamed Salah gone after nine gilded years at Anfield, the club’s recruitment team has made the wide attacking berth its priority this summer. The preferred answer, for now, remains RB Leipzig’s explosive winger Yan Diomande, whose performances for Ivory Coast at the World Cup have pushed his valuation into the stratosphere. Leipzig want around €130million (£112m). Liverpool, so far, do not.

That financial stand-off has opened the door to a very different solution.

Minteh emerges as the budget weapon

If Liverpool decide that Diomande’s fee stretches too far, Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh is expected to be one of the first names they move for, according to Caught Offside.

The numbers tell their own story. Liverpool are understood to have earmarked around £40m for Minteh, a staggering £72m less than the Diomande deal would cost. In an era of strict spending controls and squad-wide rebuilding, that kind of saving changes what else a club can do in a window.

Minteh brings a profile that fits neatly with Andoni Iraola’s high‑tempo blueprint. Quick off the mark, direct, and dangerous in one‑v‑one situations, he offers the sort of vertical threat that can stretch back lines and open space for Liverpool’s central forwards. For a manager who prizes aggression without the ball and incision with it, the Brighton winger ticks obvious boxes.

He is not the headline act in this story, not yet. But he is close enough to the stage to hear the music.

Liverpool still all‑in on Diomande

For all the talk of alternatives, Liverpool have not stepped away from Diomande. Quite the opposite. Sources indicate growing confidence at Anfield that the Leipzig star wants the move, and that belief is fuelling an aggressive push to get the deal over the line.

A £90m bid has already been rejected, yet Liverpool have not treated that as the end of the conversation. Since Iraola walked through the door, dialogue has intensified, with the club presenting Diomande a detailed vision of the project and the role he would occupy at its core.

The pitch is simple and powerful: come to Anfield and become Salah’s long‑term successor, one of the defining faces of a new era. That message has resonated. Diomande is understood to be excited by the prospect of stepping into that space, not as a like‑for‑like replacement, but as the next marquee winger to carry the burden of goals, assists, and big‑night moments on Merseyside.

Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano has echoed that sense of momentum, highlighting Liverpool’s work on the player’s side of the deal. The strategy is clear: secure Diomande’s approval, then rely on that pressure to push Leipzig towards the negotiating table.

Liverpool know this is a delicate balance. Pay the full asking price and they secure a potential superstar. Walk away, and they pivot to a cheaper, hungry option in Minteh who fits the manager’s demands and leaves room for further squad surgery.

One way or another, the right flank at Anfield will look very different when the new season kicks off. The only question now is whether that change arrives with a £112m roar or a £40m statement of smart, calculated restraint.